Battle Of The Beards; NBA Edition

Watching James Harden’s beard key Oklahoma City’s game seven victory over the Grizzlies made me respect it even more. As a man (barely) who couldn’t grow a beard if his life depended on it, no matter how long the time frame, I’ve developed and acute awareness of quality beards when I see them.

While this may be a relatively down period for facial hair in the NBA (ever since Scot Pollard retired, really) there’s still some great beard-age going on.

James Harden

The cool thing about Harden’s beard is that it augments his head nicely, like it’s an extension of his head shape; it doesn’t look forced like he’s trying to have the most memorable beard in the league, like Brian Wilson of the San Francisco Giants and that dyed opossum he’s sporting.

Ronny Turiaf

Turiaf’s beard is a reflection of his game; unkempt, not refined, you aren’t sure what it’s good at other than being big and taking up space. But BOOM, there it is; and it’s big.

Drew Gooden

Gooden has never lived up to the type of being the fourth overall pick in the Draft, but his beard/goatee has always drawn a lot of attention. He can grow the” James Harden”, and he can actually outdo Scot Pollard’s facial hair weirdness via what well call the “Tentacle Goatee”. Of all the facial hair on this list, his makes him look the scariest.

DeShawn Stevenson

He has so much stuff going on around his face and neck you sometimes forget he even has a beard, one of the best in the league. Obviously he can grow a great beard in minutes, so did he even need the Abe Lincoln tattoo? I mean doesn’t that detract from the beard, if anything?

John Salmons

Salmon’s goatee isn’t the most impressive facial hair on the list, but it is at least consistent. Every city he’s played in his had the same look, same goatee that’s a fraction of an inch from becoming a beard.

Baron Davis

Until being challenged by Harden recently, Davis was thought to have the best beard in the game for the last several seasons. Evened out from start to finish, he didn’t always rock the full beard exclusively, but as he’s gotten older its gotten more refined just like his overall game.

Carlos Boozer

Though not the thickest beard in the league, it just looks smooth, like he barely even tried to grow it. He just woke up and it looked great, no maintenance required. Of all the players on this list, Boozer’s beard is just like his playing style; balanced and well rounded.

LeBron James

Love him or hate him, he has a great beard; let’s just be honest. Like his game it’s multi-faceted and can do a lot of things. He can pull of the Baron Davis look, or the James Harden. Or he could thin it out and do the whole sideburns connecting via straight line under the chin thing.

Hoopsvibe fans, whose beard would you want to borrow and wear for a day?